It was at last becoming evident that the New York agreement was not working well.  In the autumn of 1903 business prosperity reached its high watermark and then came a sharp depression which lessened the demand for molders.  Early in 1904 the National Founders’ Association took advantage of this situation to reduce wages and finally practically abrogated the New York agreement.  In April, 1904, the founders and molders tried to reach a decision as to how the agreement could be made effective, but gave it up after four days and nights of constant consideration.  The founders claimed that the molders violated the agreement in 54 out of the 96 cases that came up during the five years of its life; and further justified their action on the ground that the union persistently refused to submit to arbitration by an impartial outsider the issues upon which the agreement was finally wrecked.

An agreement similar to the New York one was concluded in 1900 between the National Metal Trades’ Association and the International Association of Machinists.  The National Metal Trades’ Association had been organized in 1899 by members of the National Founders’ Association, whose foundries formed only a part of their manufacturing plants.  The spur to action was given by a strike called by the machinists in Chicago and other cities for the nine-hour day.  After eight weeks of intense struggle the Association made a settlement granting a promise of the shorter day.  Although hailed as one of the big agreements in labor history, it lasted only one year, and broke up on the issue of making the nine-hour day general in the Association shops.  The machinists continued to make numerous agreements with individual firms, especially the smaller ones, but the general agreement was never renewed.  Thereafter the National Metal Trades’ Association became an uncompromising enemy of organized labor.

In the following ten years both molders and machinists went on fighting for control and engaged in strikes with more or less success.  But the industry as a whole never again came so near to embracing the idea of a joint co-partnership between organized capital and labor as in 1900.

(4) The Employers’ Reaction

With the disruption of the agreement systems in the machinery producing and foundry industries, the idea of collective bargaining and union recognition suffered a setback; and the employers’ uneasiness, which had already steadily been feeding on the unions’ mounting pressure for control, now increased materially.  As long, however, as business remained prosperous and a rising demand for labor favored the unions, most of the agreements were permitted to continue.  Therefore, it was not until the industrial depression of 1907-1908 had freed the employers’ hands that agreements were disrupted wholesale.  In 1905 the Structural Erectors’ Association discontinued its agreements with the Structural Iron Workers’ Union, causing a dispute which continued over many